Elder Scrolls: The Hawks Cry
by Spartan 676
Summary: This is the story of the Dovakin Bregoldes the Hawk. The name actually has a meaning taken from Tolkien lore: Bregoldes Violent/Sudden/Fierce (bregol) Woman (dess) bregol dess She's an Altmer (High Elf) who has been used and abused by the Third Ademeri Dominion. Essentially she was baited into coming to Skyrim. That's all I'm going to say, I don't want to ruin the story.
1. Chapter 1

This is the story of the Dovakin Bregoldes the Hawk. The name actually has a meaning taken from Tolkien lore:

Bregoldes Violent/Sudden/Fierce (bregol) Woman (dess) bregol+dess

She's an Altmer (High Elf) who has been used and abused by the Third Ademeri Dominion. Essentially she was baited into coming to Skyrim. That's all I'm going to say, I don't want to ruin the story. I'm conjuring this fanfic as I'm going along; I like to keep things loose. there's going to be some romance... Haven't figured that out yet either. I'll try and be consistent, but I'm currently living in East Africa and the internet sucks, along with the power… and the traffic… Well anyways here we go!

Elder Scrolls: The Hawks Cry

Prelude

In a small fort in the Summerset Isles sat High Commander Bolon, pouring over reports as he usually did. His thin fingers flipping through the seemingly endless reports, he only paused his reading when he heard a polite knock at his door. "Enter", a seemingly nervous Kahjiit page poked his head through. "Sire, a scout from the southern border of Skyrim is here to give you a report." Bolon straightened out his robes as he stood up. "Please see the scout in."

The Aldemeri scout entered and immediately Bolon noticed what a mess he was. "What is the meaning of your state soldier? How dare you come to me in such disarray?" The scout shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably. "Forgive me High Commander, this news is urgent, it could not wait." Bolon snatched the document out of the muddy scout's hands and quickly broke the seal. "Seems like Ulfric is getting bolder…" The commander said it more to himself than anyone. "Sir, Captain Bregoldes requests that more men be sent to the southern settlement to bolster her ranks." Bolon sniffed and casually flipped his long golden hair back. "I can read you simpleton, come back within the hour so I may give you the return message. In the meantime I hope you straighten yourself out…" The scout left with a polite bow and shut the door behind him. Bolon quickly summoned the Khajiit page. "Bring me Lieutenant Faegon, immediately!"

Lieutenant Faegon walked into the High Commanders office. The High Commander was furiously scribbling on a piece of parchment, seemingly oblivious to his presence. Faegon straightened his gilded elven armor and politely coughed. "Lieutenant, I summoned you here because we got an amusing communiqué…It seems that Ulfric Stormcloak is becoming very bold indeed. We need to do something and quickly." Faegon gave High Commander Bolon a hard look as he handed the message from the scout over. "You know Ulfric is supposed to be hands off Commander. The goal is to turn him into an asset for our cause. As much as I don't like it or Ulfric our hands are tied." Faegon looked as Bolon paused his writing, looked at him and gave a truly evil smile. "Ulfric is an unwilling participant, and unreliable. He is more of a threat than anything to the Aldameri Dominion. What if I had a plan…? A plan to get rid of Ulfric and you and I would be completely blameless…" Faegon gave a skeptical look. " Tell me how." Bolon's evil smile returned, "Captain Bregoldes is currently in the southern border town of Bruma, she has requested we send her more men because she has gotten good intel on an attack that Ulfric was planning. What if my reply said that troops were in transit and then said troops didn't arrive?" Faegon looked aghast. "You cannot be serious Bolon! That would wipe out the town! We have many officers, soldiers and their families there! How would this stop Ulfric!" Bolon frowned, "Its High Commander Bolon to you Faegon and do not forget that. It's the perfect plan; it would spur our people into action. It would give us cause to eliminate Ulfric Stormcloak for his atrocities. The Empire would even back us up. " Faegon shook his head and raked his hand through his cropped golden hair. "Bregoldes the Hawk is our finest soldier, a hero. How could we do this…?" A toothy grin was all that Bolon could give. "Her death will add fuel to the fire; it will not be in vain. Her death will be for the greater good." Faegon had heard enough. "I will NOT let your ends justify the means; I will report you to the military council Bolon. This is too much!" The High Commander shook his head. "Alright Lieutenant, perhaps this is a cruel idea." Bolon got up and went to the side board on the other side of the office. "Never let it be said that I didn't listen to my subordinates when it concerned delicate matters. Wine Faegon?" The Lieutenant eased his stance. "Please, shall we speak about what troops to... GHUAAAK!" Faegon crumpled to the ground as High Commander Bolon removed his dagger from the back of Faegon's neck. "No we shall not lieutenant!" Bolon spat at the body on the floor as a pool of blood stained the floor rug. "Page! Get in here at once!" The Khajiit returned, his eyes only widened for a second and then composure was regained. "Clean up this mess and get me the dossiers on soldiers ready for promotions. Also get me some clean robes, this bloody gore will not do." Bolon smiled as the cat went running off, "I'll help myself if no one will help me… Now to finish my letter to Bregoldes."

Chapter One:

Storm on the Horizon

The air was frigid, so much so if one were to spit it would freeze before it hit the ground. That's how the Nords tested whether or not it was safe to go hunting that day, or fishing, or even go outside. There was very little activity this day, even the dogs weren't doing anything. They stayed huddled in tightly coiled balls of fur contentedly sleeping or watching the few people brave enough to endure the cold.

Captain Bregoldes sighed and wrapped her fur lined cloak tightly around her. She stood on Bruma's outer wall, watching. Command said that more troops were coming, but when? That was nearly a month ago when she got the response. Technically she wasn't even supposed to be stationed in Bruma anymore. She was supposed to have gotten a different assignment by now, but duty called. Command asked her to stay on because of all the campaigns she had done in the Great War. Now there was more fighting, the Nords didn't like the "White Gold Concordat" which banned the worship of Talos. Skirmishes lead to the Empire asking for support from Aldmeri Dominion to try and help quash the Nordic rebellion. Things seemed to be settling after a few of the rebellions leaders were executed. That is until Ulfric Stormcloak. He started the rebellion up again, by killing the High King. Now it was full on war between the Empire and the Stormcloaks.

Bregoldes shivered, but it wasn't because of the cold. How much more fighting could she endure? Now she had good intelligence that there was to be a raid on Bruma and despite High Commands promise to send more soldiers and mages a single one hasn't showed up. She had people to protect and not just the Altmer, all who lived in this town was at risk. Nord and Elf alike would not be spared if the Stormcloaks attacked. It's because Bruma was part of Cyrodiil not Skyrim.

The Captain trudged down the snow covered steps; a local guard saluted her as she gave pause. "You are to tell me at once if anything is wrong, do you understand?" The guard saluted again, and replied in a thick Nordic accent "Yes Captain!" Her many victories in battle have earned her honor amongst her own people, and at the very least respect from the local guards. She treated everyone fairly too; Nord and elf alike had to live together in this harsh land. There was no excuse for looking down on anyone, unlike so many other officers of the Aldemeri Dominion did. "_To be perfectly honest the whole war was a mistake, too many lives lost." _Bregoldes thought to herself bitterly as she came to the front stoop of her house.

She stomped the snow off of her armored boots and stepped inside, only to be met by a hurtling child. "Mother! How come you told me not to go out and then you did?" Bregoldes walked awkwardly towards a set of wall hooks, with her son hanging on to her waist. "It is too cold Maenion, you would turn into a boy-sicle!" The young boy giggled and let go. Bregoldes then proceeded to put her cloak on one of the hooks and conveniently "missed". Bubbly laughter could then be heard from under the cloak. Maenion poked his dark haired head out and wrapped the heavy garment around him; it was far too large for him. "Mother, Papa has made some stew, he said to keep it over the fire for you because you would be cold." The Elvin woman couldn't help but smile, Carasben her husband was a doting man, and an excellent husband and lover. They'd been together for over ten years now, she never tired of him. Five years ago they had their first born Maenion; it was shortly after the war. Bregoldes thought that having a child was one of the greatest privileges there was. Usually Altmer marriages are arranged and _breeding_ was carefully monitored to keep blood lines pure. But the whole pure bloodline nonsense was lost on Bregoldes's family. There was Dunmer blood mixed in her family lineage long ago. It showed in Bregoldes's long dark hair, highly unusual for Altmer. It also meant she could marry for love instead of blood, which was fine by her.

Bregoldes sat down in her favorite chair by the fire, took off her helmet began to unbuckle her elven armored boots. "Maenion where is your father right now?" She smiled as the boy came over still wrapped in the over sized cloak. "Papa said that the cart with his goods was late. He went to the north gate to ask Celegon if he'd heard anything." Carasben owned a successful general goods store in Bruma and it was in sore need of a restock. The Captain frowned; the supplier from the south was never late. She started to re-buckle her boots. "Maenion, I'm going to go and check on your father, I want you to stay in the house, eat your supper and go to bed in an hour." Maenion pouted when he looked at his mother. "Awww, alright… Here is your cloak Mother." She took the garment from her little boy and as she brushed his hair out of his eyes planted a wet kiss on his forehead. "I'll be back soon with Papa. The Captain then grabbed her helmet and headed out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as Bregoldes stepped outside she was assaulted by a torrent of snow. The weather had become much worse since she had last been out. She put on her helmet and wrapped her fur lined cloak more tightly around herself. Nearly all of the townsfolk were inside as night descended. The few guards that were out huddled near fires or standing underneath the eaves of buildings for shelter. Bregoldes only knew they were there because of the fires they were near; she could scarcely see a few feet in front of her.

She finally found her way to the northern gate, it was the most heavily guarded as it was the one that lead to the boarder to Skyrim. Sergeant Celegon met her as she approached the gate house. "Captain, I was just about to send for you." Celegon was second in command, and was a very competent and capable soldier. "What is going on Sergeant? I heard my husband was up here." Celegon shook his head and looked at Bregoldes worriedly. "Captain we had a scout out before night fell and he said that he saw a wagon a couple of leagues north with a broken wheel. Of course Carasben was very eager to get his shipment and went out to meet them. I didn't want him to go alone so I sent Eddval the Ox and two town guardsmen with him. But it's been far too long now and the snow squall is getting worse by the minute. I was getting ready to head out myself with some Aldemeri soldiers." Bregoldes cursed softly, her husband was an enthusiastic merchant and now that same enthusiasm may have put him and others in danger of freezing to death. "Let's go Sergeant, we can't waste any more time." A couple town guardsmen brought down some horses, saddled up and ready to go, with a some emergency supplies in case the Altmer soldiers were stuck in the storm as well. The large gate opened, groaning in protest to the cold and the High Elves rode carefully north.

Eddval the Ox was a large man, that's why they called him "the Ox". That name was given to him at the tender age of 4, when he was already as big as his 10 year old brother. He joined the towns guard at 16 and was promoted to Captain of the towns guard at age 21. That's why when Sergeant Celegon first came upon his body in the snow he was shocked. He was riddled with arrows, his war hammer still clutched in his left hand. The snow was pink from all the blood that had spilled, no sign of the others that had gone out to meet the supply wagon.

Captain Bregoldes had finally made it too where Celegon was standing and dismounted her horse. "By the Eight! Carasben! CARASBEN!" No answer, although hardly anything could be heard over the howling of the wind. "Captain, we're not at the wagon yet, it's still a league out. Looks like bandits, Eddval was heading back towards Bruma when he got shot." The Sergeant shook his head, and watched as Bregoldes quickly mounted her horse. "Celegon, I want you to send one of the men back to Bruma and let them know what happened. You and the other soldier will come with me, we have to reach the wagon!" "Captain I know you have a loved one out there, but if it's bandits we don't have enough support, and the storm is getting worse. If we lose our way we won't be a help to anyone." Bregoldes narrowed her green eyes, "Iam going to save my husband, if you come that's fine, if not turn back!" The Sergeant shook his head and sighed. "What about Maenion? I'm sorry Captain, if bandits are involved we all know what probably has happened to Carasben… May the Eight rest his soul." Bregoldes dismounted her horse, strode straight up to Celegon and punched him square in the jaw. The Altmer fell back in the snow. "I'm going Celegon! Come or don't!" The Sergeant got up with the aid of one of the Dominion soldiers. "You!" He pointed to the other soldier. "Go and report our findings to the town guard with all haste, the rest of us are heading to the wagon!" The soldier quickly spurred his horse in the opposite direction, kicking up copious amounts of snow in his wake. The trio quickly lost sight of him and headed to their destination.

When the Altmer got close enough to where the supply wagon was supposed to have been, they dismounted the horses and continued on foot. Captain Bregoldes paused when she heard voices. The wind was howling so much she couldn't make out what was being said. She could only make out 5 or six figures against a background of white. She crouched down and the rest of her group followed suit. She began to edge her way along the back of a very large snow drift. Finally the party had gotten close enough to hear what a couple of the figures were saying.

"I don't know, I think this was a bad idea…Why did we have to come out here for this wagon, why couldn't we be with the main attack force?" One figure said with a thick Nordic accent. "Because Ulfric said so, we needed the supplies. Besides the Imperial merchant, this High Elf, and the town guardsmen weren't much of a fight. If this is what Bruma has to offer us battle wise it will be an easy sack. Speaking of the attack it should be starting now."

Bregoldes's heart sank, she knew her husband was dead. Adding insult to injury Bruma was being attacked by the Stormcloaks and she was nearly 2 leagues away. _"Maenion! By the eight, what can I do! My husband is dead and my son is in danger!" _ Bitter tears rolled down the Altmer woman's face. "Captain, orders?" Bregoldes looked behind her, and wiped her eyes with her gloved hands, it didn't help much. Celegon and the soldier accompanying them were right behind her. She pulled out her fine Elven sword and jumped out from behind the snow drift. The two Stormcloaks that were having the conversation where quickly engulfed in a pyre of flames. They barely had time to scream, they crumpled into a pile of ashes as flames melted the snow on the ground. The remaining Nords were so surprised they didn't notice the other Altmer soldier jump from behind the opposite side of the snow drift and dropped one more Stormcloak with a well placed arrow to the chest. Celegon charged over the snow drift with his Elven axe in hand and shot a firebolt in the direction of the confused Nords. It went wide and hit a snow bank in a plume of steam. Four more Stormcloaks remained to be dispatched. Celegon started to combat a particularly large Nord with a large great sword. He was matching him blow for blow, using the speed of his lighter weapon to his advantage. The young Altmer soldier that had so expertly killed with his bow was now taking on two Nords. He crippled one with an arrow in the knee to buy some time and quickly summoned an ice spike to take out the other one. Too late however, he gave out a gurgled cry as the other Stormcloak reached him and hit him square in the chest with his mace. The Nord rebel then continued to bludgeon him after he had fallen to the ground.

Bregoldes was in a fury, she saw what had happened to her soldier and the same fire spell she had used earlier she used on the Stormcloak with the mace. The Nord didn't stand a chance, another pyre of flame went up where a person once stood. She looked over to her second in command and saw his demise as well. The crippled Stormcloak had shot him in the back with an arrow, it went clean through his armor. Celegon was desperately trying to pull it out of his back when his head was chopped clean from his shoulders. The body dropped to the ground and a macabre fountain of red spurted from Celegons neck. Two Nords left standing. Bregoldes quickly ran forward towards the Stormcloak wielding the great sword, as she did so she conjured an ice spike and hurled it right at the crippled soldier. It went clean through is chest as he cried out in obvious pain. Bregoldes then leaped up and brought her sword down on the great sword wielder. He blocked her blow, and tried to sweep his blade horizontally across her chest. It was a clumsy move, and she kicked him in the face. The Nord was dazed but quickly recovered and parried her next sword stroke and using the pommel of his great sword, he managed to get a blow in right to Bregoldes's head. She fell back, blood instantly flowed down her face. Blackness crept to the edges of her vision, she watched numbly as the large blade began to come down on her. Bregoldes managed to bring up her own blade at the last second and parried his killing blow. She scrambled up and before the rebel could even lift his weapon again she disemboweled him. He crumpled to the ground around his intestines.

Bregoldes leaned on her sword, breathing heavily; the snow had finally stopped. She looked at the road ahead and finally saw the damned supply wagon. The horses were slain and the Imperial that the Stormcloaks had spoken of lay next to them, his eyes stared blankly into the sky. Bregoldes then began to walk towards the back of the wagon and there was her husband, the love of her life. He was ghostly white, his eyes staring blankly in his wife's direction. Gore stained the front of his blue and gold tunic, the Altmer man's throat had been slit.

Bregoldes fell to her knees and cried, she couldn't protect him, she couldn't protect anyone. Her husband, her home, her son. Her son! Maerion! She quickly mounted her horse and galloped back towards Bruma. It was much easier to see now, although the sky grew dark. As she drew closer to the city she saw fires raging behind the walls, and heard the screams of the inhabitants. She was galloping so fast she didn't notice the arrow from one of the cities battlements. It hit her horse in the leg causing it to trip, and roll over Bregoldes. She was out cold, while she lay unconscious the city of Bruma burned.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay guys, I'm going to try and be as consistent as possible with these stories. However I'm currently working in East Africa and the internet kind of sucks here, so does the power, and the traffic… Anyways going to try really hard here. There may be some mistakes, I don't have anybody else with "eyes on" the stuff I write. Constructive criticism is welcome. **

**I'm keeping things loose, I'm coming up with everything as I go along. Right now the part I'm writing isn't canonical, but it's going to be soon. I'm laying down some background. I'm not going to rehash Skyrim verbatim. If you want that, this is not the story for you.**

**Alright, enough ranting. Oh by the way, I own nothing made by Bethesda, including Skyrim and all the characters within. **

**Chapter 3:**

**Vengeance Served Haphazardly **

Dripping water was the first sound that registered, wet and somewhat persistent. Then the bright piercing light of the morning sun registered. Bregoldes opened her eyes and quickly shut them again. She was soaked from the snow she lay on and her whole body ached. She finally managed to open her eyes and immediately winced; she had forgotten about the head wound that the damned Stormcloak managed to inflict. The Captain slowly sat up and took off her helmet, and looked around. Her horse was a few yards off, dead from the fall that he had taken.

The smell of smoke was heavy in the air, Bregoldes twisted around to see Bruma. It was smoldering even now. She got up as quickly and pain shot up her left side. Broken ribs be damned, she began to jog haphazardly towards the gates of Bruma. It took only a few minutes to cover the short distance, even with the broken ribs. The town was a ruin of what it once was. Everything was blackened and burnt and the smell of death was prevalent. Wailing could be heard in the distance, a few town guardsmen were digging through the rubble of a guard shack, looking for anyone that survived.

Bregoldes quickly hobbled to her house, it was burnt to the foundation. It was as if her lungs didn't want to work, and her throat had closed shut. She collapsed her face in her hands. "Captain?" Bregoldes didn't bother to look up. "My son, Maerion… was he in the house?" She finally lifted her head to look at a particularly battered local guardsman. He had a bloody bandage wrapped around his head. "Only a hand full of people survived, all of the survivors are at a makeshift camp at the south gate… No children though Captain." Bregoldes gave him an icy stare. "Ulfric did this? He burnt down the entire town, a town of innocent people?!" The guard nodded his wounded head. "Ulfric came out himself, he lead the charge once the gate was broken down…Captain? What are our orders?" Bregoldes clenched her jaw and got up off of the ground. "Which way did Ulfric go when he left?" The guard looked at her unsuredly, "He traveled North West from here, probably heading back up into Skyrim." "I want you to help the others, I am no longer your Captain. I'm going to hunt down Ulfric and kill him…As far as you are concerned I no longer exist." She brushed past the town guard and headed for her husband's shop.

The building of course was burnt, everything was. But there was a storage cellar. The Altmer woman hefted a charred ceiling beam off of the door in the floor, ignoring the pain in her side as she went. She pulled up the trap door and descended the stone stairs. She lit the torch in the sconce on the wall and surveyed the area. What little was down here was intact if not a bit smokey. In the corner was a brand new set of leather armor on a stand and of course the usual consumable dry goods her husband always kept around. Bregoldes quickly got out of her elven armor, cleaned herself up a bit and put on the leather set and adjusted it accordingly. She picked up her elven sword and fastened it to her belt. She took a very nice hunting bow and some arrows. She also filled a bag with some provisions along with a bedroll.

She then marched down to the north gate and looked in the stables. A few horses remained. She chose the best looking one and saddled it up, and headed towards Bruma's North gate. Bregoldes got a few hundred yards out and took one last look back. Her life in that town was over; her life in general was over. The things that mattered most to her were gone, her family, her home. The Aldmeri Dominion failed her, the Empire failed her. _"I will put things right, Ulfric will die, and then I will join my family." _ That was her plan and her only purpose in life now. She kicked her heels lightly, and the horse moved forward into the snowy forest. It was sunny right now, but the later it got the harder it would be to track down Ulfric.

It was well into the evening when Bregoldes finally caught up with Ulfric and his contingent of Stormcloaks. He didn't even try to hide where he was going, or staying for that matter. Several fires were lit and laughter could be heard from the camp site. She dismounted her horse and crawled on her stomach to a snow covered log on the edge of the camp. "_Where is that son of a whore?!_" Just as the Altmer woman was thinking of finding another spot, Ulfric emerged from a tent. Cheering and clapping came up from the crowd and Ulfric put up his hands to quiet the noise. "Brothers and sisters of Skyrim, victory is ours!" More cheering and then it ebbed away quickly. "We will show the Empire that we are a force to be reckoned with, and the damned Aldemeri Dominion! If we keep crippling the trade routes and towns of Cyrodiil, this war will soon be over. Skyrim will be its own place once more!" A roar went up from the crowd, the cheering and drinking resumed. Ulfric was surrounded by his men, if only Bregoldes could get closer…

Yelling could be heard from the far side of the camp, then sounds of battle ensued. Imperial soldiers cascaded into the Stormcloak camp! Bregoldes smiled, now was her chance, she got up and headed towards where Ulfric was standing before the attack. The chaos of battle giving her the freedom of movement needed to find and kill Ulfric. When she finally reached him he had just finished off an Imperial legate. "ULFRIC STORMCLOAK!" He quickly turned, sword in hand. "My family and my home are destroyed! Now it's your turn!" Ulfric sneered at Bregoldes, "What's wrong little elf? Did I kill your family in Bruma? Well maybe you should've protected them better, or maybe you shouldn't have been in Bruma at all Aldmeri bitch!" It was too much, she flung a firebolt in his direction but he dodged it. Their swords met in a lock, and Bregoldes kicked the Nord back. Nothing would stop here, Ulfric went for a high attack but the Altmer woman disarmed his sloppy form. Ulfric stood there, with a shocked look, Bregoldes slowly advancing on his position. The battle around them dying down, she lifted her blade to perform a killing blow. Just then a sharp pain could be felt from her left temple, and the ground rushed up to meet her.

Bregoldes slowly came too, her head was on fire. Being concussed twice in a three day period cannot be good. She was moving, but it was bumpy, and people were speaking around her. Everything was so blurry and her hands were bound;V she focused a bit more and her hearing followed suit. "You, over there, horse thief. Where are you from?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

What Once Was Gone Has Now Returned

_"So this is how my life will end, a traitors death." _Bregoldes had lost everything, her family her home. Now she was going to lose her life. The Imperials surprise attack on the Stormcloak camp was a stroke of genius, but they assumed that she was working with them. Yes an Altmer was working with the Stormcloaks. She had no illusions that there was some prejudice involved with the Imperial Captain's decision to simply execute her instead of investigating why she was in that camp to begin with. Even the Stormcloaks that were captured declared the Altmer shouldn't have the honor to die with them. It didn't matter, nothing mattered any more. Bergoldes had failed everything and everyone she loved and cared about. Death would be a bittersweet release.

There they all stood, a priestess of Arkay giving them their last rights. An impatient rebel with fire red hair marched up and boldly proclaimed that he didn't have all day. Bregoldes was numb to everything around her, all she could do was glare at Ulfric Stormcloak. "Next, the High Elf!" A strange roar could be heard in the distance, "Captain did you hear that." The Nord standing next to her said, he looked quite pensive. "I said NEXT PRISONER!" The young man shook his head and waved Bregoldes forward, "Come on Altmer, nice and easy." She kneeled down, and slowly laid her head on the executioners block. She could feel and smell the warm blood from the prisoner that had gone before her on her neck. _"Soon, it will be all over". _She saw the shadow of the executioners axe, and then Bregoldes closed her eyes…

What came next was entirely unexpected, a deafening roar! It knocked her clear off the block on to her side. She heard yelling and sounds of people running, and then she opened her eyes. The executioner's legs were crushed beneath stone debris, he was screaming. The Imperial general was scrambling to get his men in order to mount a defense. But what was it that caused all this destruction in only seconds? The Altmer woman scrambled to her knees and saw a great black form in the sky. She blinked in disbelief, a dragon?! A bloody dragon and a huge one at that!

Bregoldes clumsily got her legs from under her and got up. She looked to her right and saw the remaining Stormcloaks (along with Ulfric) barricade themselves in a watch tower. She cursed as she started to run towards the house next to the watch tower if only to find cover for a second. She managed to squeeze through a broken plank in the wall, and quickly looked around for a knife to cut her bindings. Not a single sharp edge, now she had to do the one thing she was hoping to avoid. She slowly summoned some magika to her fingers and a small flame began burning through the leather ties. Bregoldes winced as she smelled her own flesh cooking, finally the bindings gave. She hissed through her teeth as rubbed her wrists, and looked around for an exit.

There was a gaping hole in the wall on the opposite side of the house, Bregoldes scrambled through hoping to avoid any fire or falling debris. As soon as she emerged on the other side a scene was playing out right before her eyes. "Haming you have to come over here now!" It was the Imperial soldier from the execution; he was trying to get a young boy out of the path of the oncoming dragon. "Come on Haming! You're doing fine boy!" The boy was crying over the body of a loved one, presumably his father. Bregoldes didn't give a second thought, she quickly ran past the soldier and grabbed the boy in her arms and threw him over her shoulder just as the dragon landed. She dove behind a ruined house as a wall of fire was shot in her and the boy's direction. She landed ungracefully on her side, the boy running to a local town resident. The man looked at her holding the boy, "Gods bless you Altmer!" She shook her head and looked up as the Imperial soldier walked over. "Nice job prisoner, care to stay alive longer?" He helped Bregoldes up and she began brushing soot off of her battered leather armor. "So you go from executing me to enlisting my help?! This is utter madness! How do I know you're not just going to execute me after we're safe?!" "Look Altmer, we all want to survive right? As far as I'm concerned your execution was cancelled when that dragon showed up." He bent over and rested his hands on his knees in an effort to catch his breath. "You two, get to cover now! Altmer help me get to the other side of town so I can get to the keep, and I'll look the other way so you can escape!" At that the soldier ran off towards the keep, Bregoldes simply shook her head and began to trail after him.

It was a short but harrowing trip through collapsed buildings and Imperial soldiers trying to stop the dragon; however the Legionnaire and Bregoldes finally made it to the gate of the keep. A very frantic General Tullius was yelling at his soldiers to get into the keep. The duo then headed passed the gate passing wounded and dead on the way. They finally made it to the middle of the courtyard of the keep, the heavily weathered wooden door mere feet away… The dragon landed right behind Bregoldes knocking her off her feet! Its wing span was huge, blood dripping from its teeth. She inched backwards on the ground; the dragon's icy stare seemed to penetrate the Altmer woman's very soul. "Dovakiin…" The Dragon reared up, ready to strike… A flaming arrow hit one of its wings, then the side of its scaled neck. It bellowed with pain and went after the offending archers. Bregoldes didn't think twice, she jumped up and dashed for the door!

She entered the room in the keep and cursed as she stumbled on the step leading down. Her eyes hadn't adjusted to the dim light. "Well, looks like we're the only ones that made it..." The soldier lit a torch and looked around. "I can't believe it, a dragon! The bringer of the end times!" Bregoldes sat heavily in a nearby chair, and rested her head in her hands. "Hey, you alright? Let me get some water, you're not looking so well." The man wandered off to the other side of the room and promptly came back with a bowl of water and well kept steel sword. "Hadvar" The Altmer looked up "What?! What are you talking about?" "That's my name, Hadvar. I figured that after what we just went through telling you my name was the least I could do." He took a cloth and dipped it in the bowl and gingerly put it on the gash on elf's cheek. She gasped at the sharp pain and put her hand on the cloth to keep it in place. "I am Bregoldes, and I have no idea how we just survived that." Hadvar smiled and stood up and looked around. "We should try and get out of here, I have a feeling if the dragon doesn't get us the Stormcloaks wandering around will." Bregoldes looked around for the first time, it appeared to be living quarters for the Legion or town guard. She hefted the steel sword, it was well used but also well kept. She fastened it to the belt on her armor. "You good with sword Altmer?" The Nord said teasingly and then gave her a challenging smile. "Pah! I don't need to prove anything to you boy! I've seen more battles than years you've been alive!" "Alright, don't get salty. Come on, we should get out of here, I don't think anyone else is coming. There's a town nearby where my uncle lives. If we can make it there, we'll be a whole lot safer." At that the Nord and the Altmer made their way deeper into the keep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry guys! I'm really late getting this out. So did I mention I live in central Africa at the moment? (Cough) Anyways, I wasn't particularly happy with chapter 4 and I'm struggling a bit with the current chapter. I'm going to try and adjust my writing style a bit and try and make the chapters flow a bit better.**

**As always I own nothing, and Bethesda owns everything.**

**Chapter 5**

**Quaint Town, Quaint Set of Circumstances**

The ominous silhouette of the Dragon flew off in the distance leaving Bregoldes and Hadvar to speculate in their hidden position behind a large rock. "I think Ulfric knows about that dragon…" Hadvar said as he stood up and brushed himself off. "I don't think so, certainly it was timely for it to show up when it did for Ulfric, not to mention me as well. But I doubt he really had anything to do with the damnable thing." The Altmer stood up as well and adjusted the sword on her belt. "Come on, Riverwood isn't too far. If we follow the river down this way we'll make it before nightfall." The Nord stepped out on to the dirt path and started to plod down the mountainside.

The sun was out and the sounds of the river weren't too far off. Chirping birds and the smell of earth and melting snow was heavy in the air around them. The frantic trek through the winding tunnels of Helgen keep put them squarely near the bottom of the mountain on the opposite side. Bregoldes looked back and could see black, acrid smoke rising above them. It was clear that the town no longer existed. It reminded her too much of what happened to Bruma, to her home, to her family… By her count it had been just shy of a week since she left Bruma, but it felt much longer than that. Tears stung her eyes, and she quickly brushed them away and looked up to make sure Hadvar hadn't seen her.

"How did you end up with Ulfric's bunch anyway?" Hadvar looked back but didn't stop walking. "You are nosey human. I wasn't working with him if that is what you're asking. I'd rather slit my own throat." Bregoldes sniffed indignantly at the thought. "Of course you weren't working with him, Ulfric and his High Elf ally? That's almost as unbelievable as that dragon we saw. Look you obviously weren't in league with him, what were you doing then?"

Hadvar looked back and saw that Bregoldes had stopped walking with him, her face clouded with fury. "He razed my town and killed my family! I owe him a painful death! I also owe the Aldmeri Dominion; Ulfric would have never even bothered to attack if they had sent reinforcements like they had promised. All those years I spent serving the High Aldemeri Dominion, the sacrifice. What do I get? A razed home, and a dead family." Hadvar's expression softened, "You were there to kill him." The Altmer woman brushed passed him along the trail. "Yes, I almost had done it too except your General Tulius and his ambush got in my way." The Nord followed after her, "My unit got word of what happened to Bruma, the report said that only a few villagers and some towns' guardsmen survived. The report also said that all the Dominion soldiers and their commander had perished." They were quiet for a long time, the only sounds heard were the river and the birds. The dirt path finally opened to a cobbled road that ran directly alongside the river. It was late in the afternoon but the sun was shining brightly against the water, a nice change from snow and ice.

Hadvar came up next to the elf "You're Commander Bregoldes, the Hawk…" She snorted at the Nord man. "Not any longer, my family, my life, it's gone I have nothing. I couldn't even avenge my family. I don't even know what I'm doing now to be honest. My goal was to kill Ulfric and then join my loved ones in the afterlife." Bregoldes stopped and walked over to the river, she kneeled down and splashed her face with the cool water flowing in front of her. "There are tales of you, from the war. You're known and respected in the Legion as a formidable warrior."

Hadvar kneeled down next to the older elven woman, and watched as she gulped down some river water. She was older but pretty, even by human standards. She was possibly in her forties, she didn't have any wrinkles to note but her face was careworn. She didn't have all the angles that most of the Altmer faces had either. She had long dark hair, the color of earth and emerald green eyes with sharp, dark eyebrows. Her skin was more of a bronze color than the pale gold usually associated with her race. Her voice had the typical High Aldemeri accent but was surprisingly melodic.

"Join the Legion." Bregoldes choked, "What?! Join the Legion!? They just tried to execute me because they didn't care about why I was there! I was just one less Altmer to fight if and _when_ the war starts up again!" She gave the young man an incredulous look. "Seriously, what have you got to lose? You have no ties, the Dominion thinks you're dead and, you want to kill Ulfric and his damned Stormcloaks. Unless that fury you showed earlier has gone, and you don't want to avenge your family?" "You are a bold man Hadvar, I doubt they would even have me."

She got up and dusted off her knees and looked at Hadvar. "Riverwood is this way, yes?" "Yeah we're not far now maybe a half an hour's walk." Bregoldes started walking again and watched amusedly as Hadvar stepped ahead of her turned and began to backwards. "Come on… Join the Legion, General Tulius won't waste the opportunity to use you like the soldier you are. Bregoldes cocked and eyebrow at him. "Or he could throw me back into prison, which sounds like a lovely idea. Are you going to walk like that the entire way to town? You look ridiculous." "At least hear the General out, look your skills at commanding men, your knowledge of the Dominion, your battle prowess, come to Solitude with me. I'll vouch for you, you've got nothing to lose." "Except my freedom, for all the good that does me… Alright, I trust you, I'll go to Solitude and hear what Tullius has to say. As you said I have nothing to lose." Hadvar leapt in the air with his fist held high. "YES! I promise you, you won't regret this." "Let us hope not young man, meanwhile you can start walking like a normal person." Hadvar chuckled and stepped in time with his Altmer companion.

The sun was setting as the pair entered the town, a shaggy gray hound started to bark as they passed through the gateway. "Stub, come here boy!" The dog loped off to meet his boy who was sitting on the porch of the local inn. "My uncle is the towns' blacksmith, he'll at the very least give us a place to stay for the night." Bregoldes nodded, she was so exhausted at this point that putting one foot in front of the other was the only thing she could manage at this point.

Not long after Hadvar mentioned his uncle he called out to the building nearest to the left. "Uncle Alvor!" An older man with sandy blond hair and a large mustache looked up from his sweeping. "Hadvar! Are you on leave? We were worried about you…" The man trailed off when he saw the rough state the young Nord was in. The pair reached the steps to the forge finally and Alvor got a proper look at his nephew. "What happened boy? Did you get into a fight with a cave bear?" "Uncle, it's a long story and not one for everyone to hear." Alvor nodded and looked over at the Altmer, "Who is this now?" Hadvar smiled as he looked back. "This is my friend, Bregoldes, she saved my life. Look I can tell you what happened when we get somewhere more private." The blacksmith nodded and set down his broom. "Of course, come on in, your aunt Sigrid has supper on the fire. Your welcome too elf, anyone who saves the life of my kin is welcome at my table." He nodded at Bregoldes and clapped Hadvar on the back, and guided them both towards the entrance to the house.

"A dragon, I saw a dragon! Big as the sky and black as night!" Hadvar and Alvor continued into the house but the Altmer stopped to listen. "Mother quiet! Everyone will think you're mad!" A tall fair haired Nord was trying to quiet his aged mother at the house across the way. "You'll see, there was a dragon! He'll eat us all and then you'll believe me!" The fair haired Nord shook his head, "Enough mother, I don't have time for this!" He turned and stalked away in obvious annoyance. Bregoldes pursed her lips and turned to enter the house, she couldn't help but feel that the dragon's appearance was the start of something big.


End file.
